How to catch a bee swarm in an empty hive?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

If you decide to start breeding bees, you have no idea how interesting it is. Initially, many people think: "I will start one or two families, I will collect honey for myself." And then they get a taste, and no longer want to do anything else, like buzzing houses. In order for your apiary to grow and be replenished with new hives in a timely manner, you can write out bees from special farms. Then a new swarm will come to you in a box and all that remains is to transplant it into a house. However, there is another way. You can catch a roaming bee swarm for free. Today we will talk about catching techniques, as well as the difficulties associated with it.

Newbie Information

If you are only at the beginning of the beekeeping path and acquiring a flying family is only in the plans, then you can try to get a wild bee swarm. Despite the fact that this process is quite laborious, it is also extremely interesting. True, it requires a certain amount of time. However, the result will exceed all expectations. Wild insects are beautifulperformance and winter hardiness, as well as resistance to various diseases. Therefore, their offspring, which fled in the form of a swarm in search of their own housing, is of great value.

Catching stray bees

Swarm season starts in May and ends in August. Accordingly, at this time, you can actively place traps near flowering meadows, preferably where there are many honey plants. In this case, the efficiency can be very different. Capture a dozen swarms in one season, and not a single one in another.

Of course, depends on the number of traps. The more of them, the sooner you can find the most promising places and get new families. Do not forget to inspect them every day, and ideally you can look in the morning and evening. If the hornets have chosen the trap, then you will have to remove it and drive out the uninvited guests with the help of a smoker. They won't be thrilled, so protect your face and hands with a net.

And be patient, as catching a roaming bee swarm is not always easy. Sometimes insects climb into the house you have prepared, but for some reason they decide to move on and begin to actively scatter. If you are nearby at this moment, then use the old trick: spray the bees with water. They'll think it's raining, which it's wiser to wait in shelter.

Home swarm

However, even an experienced beekeeper who already has more than one hive on the site should know well how to track and catch a bee swarm. The fact is that each of his families will grow andthe day will come when, led by a new queen, some of the bees will leave the cramped hive to form a new colony. In order not to miss these insects, there should be traps in the apiary that will attract their attention. Then you can safely transplant a new swarm into your own house.

Finally, the third option is why the beekeeper needs this information. A swarm of bees can escape from a negligent beekeeper who lives relatively close to you. Having one or more traps on the plot, you get the opportunity to catch this family and increase your population.

Instincts work against us

Catching swarms of bees is fun and educational, but don't be too disappointed if your first attempts fail. There are three main points here, which we will analyze in sequence. The first concerns the distance of the traps from the apiary. It would be logical to assume that they need to be placed on their site, so that the young family simply moved to separate housing. But practice suggests that such a decision would be erroneous.

The natural instinct tells insects that you need to choose a place for life far from your native apiary in order to avoid overpopulation and lack of food. Therefore, catching bee swarms is carried out outside your site. As a rule, insects choose the same places that an experienced beekeeper knows about. But it will be difficult for a beginner to determine exactly where they will go.

Preparing a temporary house

Since catching a bee swarm with bare hands is notit turns out, you need to build a suitable house for him. The most important thing is that the insects themselves find it quite appropriate for placement. It is not difficult to make a trap, it does not require large financial and time investments. Let's talk about what exactly is a bee trap:

• This is the most common box, which is made from improvised materials. In fact, this is the same hive, only lighter and smaller, since it is understood that the bee family will stay in it for a relatively short time. Be sure to place inside the frame for honey, which has already begun to fill. That is, it will need to be taken from the old hive.
• The choice of materials depends on the preference of each beekeeper. But the general rule is that the design should not be too heavy. You can use plywood, fiberboard, thin boards or spare parts from unnecessary, old furniture. Beauty and reliability is the tenth thing. The main thing is that this temporary room for bees can be placed on a tree, and also that it is not stolen by a random thief. In this regard, the uglier the box, the better.
• But there are subtleties here too. It is also necessary to assess the state of the trap from the position of insects. What are they looking for first? Protection from predators, drafts and rain. That is, insects should be comfortable inside. Therefore, you will have to make sure that there are no cracks and gaps. The bees only need a notch and a landing board, all other holes are completely unnecessary.

Two are better than one

Catching bee swarms with traps is always a lottery. Therefore, it would be better if you prepare several of them. When creating a design, think in advance about the size of a young family. As a rule, about half are separated from the bee colony. If the room is too small, instead of taking root, they will fly further.

Placing frames inside the trap is a must as the young family should be able to set up and collect honey. Many beekeepers believe that one frame can be placed in a trap, but experienced beekeepers recommend using at least 5-8 frames. In this case, the bees are more likely to choose the house offered to them. At the same time, the design will turn out to be quite compact and light. It is best to take old frames, young insects take root in them much better.

Letok is another important point that you need to pay attention to. Since it is rarely possible to catch a bee swarm in a hive with a personal presence, you will have to rely on the fact that they will like it and they will linger in it until you arrive. It is very important that the bees find it safe. The length of the notch should be 6-7 cm, and the height should be 1 cm. This will not allow uninvited guests to get inside. The arrival board must be supplied with a ledge of 3 cm.

Such important decorations

Exterior design is another point that should not be overlooked. You are faced with two tasks: to make the design completely unattractive to the casual passer-by and noteworthy toinsects. To do this, the body of the trap is sheathed with tree bark and branches from above. The more natural it looks, the more willingly a young family will consider it as a home. It is desirable to cover the walls with beeswax. This is necessary to disguise your participation in its creation, as well as as a bait. For the same reasons, paint, varnish and other odorous substances should not be used.

Comfort above all else

For a young family to linger in a trap, it must be dry inside. No matter what the weather is like outside, if water seeps through the cracks in the roof, it is likely that the insects will decide to escape. Therefore, the roof must be overlapped, and also covered from above with any waterproof material. This is a matter of survival, so the suitability of housing will be assessed very strictly. Do not assume that a temporary box can be with cracks as thick as a finger. The fact that they have another housewarming party, the bees do not yet know.

Hanging traps

Designs for trapping a young family are usually placed within a radius of 3 km from the apiary:

• In this case, you need to pay attention to the terrain. It is best to place them on the edge, next to a forest or grove. If there is a large body of water nearby, then give up the idea of hanging a trap here. But on the bank of a small stream, the bees will stop very willingly.
• Do not forget that insects fly out of the nest for a reason. They are looking for a place where there is a lot of food, and they are guided primarily by smell. Therefore, the best bait for bee swarms isthese are fresh honey combs that can be used to set a trap.
• It is extremely important to accurately determine the time of swarming. It is best if the traps are hung 2-3 days before the departure of a new family. Usually this is the end of May - the beginning of June. If you do this in advance, then wasps, hornets or ants will be interested in such houses, which will scare away the bee scouts.

Bait is not the last thing

Everything that we described above: a comfortable house, a non-leaking roof, the presence of frames - this is all right, but such tricks do not always work. If over and over again your trap remains empty, then you can try special preparations, the action of which is based on the natural instincts of bees. We will tell you only about the most popular ones, since there are quite a lot of them on the market:

• "Apimil" is a gel-like substance that is prepared on the basis of pheromones. It is characterized by prolonged action. Even if you come a few days after the hive is settled, the insects are guaranteed to wait for you.
• Uniroy is a gel composition based on fragrant substances that are attractive to insects.
• "Sunroy" - has gained great popularity among beekeepers. It is produced in the form of cardboard strips, which are impregnated with attractants. They are attached between the frames and can attract bee colonies throughout the summer period. If you want to know how to catch a swarm of bees in an empty hive, then you have a ready-made solution. Enough to get a few oldhouses, provide them with frames and glue the strips of "Sanroy". Place them near your apiary, and gradually they will fill up with bees.

If luck smiled

So you've returned to the location of the trap and you see that bees are hovering over it. What to do now? You need to wait until evening, close the notch and move the trap home. Now you have to transplant them into a permanent hive. To do this, it is better to choose warm, calm weather and take an assistant with a smoker who will scare insects so that they do not bite.

Carefully remove the top of the trap. Usually bees have time to rebuild wax tongues very quickly. Examine them carefully. The main thing is that the queen bee does not stay on them. Now we need to look at the frames. If one of them has a queen, then this frame must be placed in the hive. If it is not there, and the sowing is insignificant, then shake off the bees and set the frame aside.

What should I do if the frame inspection fails? In other words, you never found the queen. In this case, shake out all the insects from the trap directly into the hive and close the lid. It would be superfluous to add that everything should already be ready for a new family there. Now it remains only to wait until the insects settle down and begin to store honey. Congratulations, you now have a new bee colony.